“Cimarronaje Institucional:” Ethno-racial Legal Status and the Subversive Institutionalization of Afrodescendant Organizations in Bolivarian Venezuela

Focusing on the recent actions of the Afro-Venezuelan movement, this article analyzes how activists participate in the institutional apparatus of the Bolivarian state in order to promote agendas against racial discrimination and in favor of ethnic recognition. By moving beyond classic concepts of institutionalization, it examines the achievements, challenges, and ambiguities experienced by these actors as they engage in different institutional spheres. We argue that this process, identified by the movement as cimarronaje institucional, opens up opportunities for creating participatory engagements within national and local institutional settings. We suggest that this political practice is morally underpinned by an “ethics of cimarronaje”—a collective action frame that synthesizes ideologies of historical resistance against racial and social exclusion. Institutionalization does not necessarily mean the end of collective action, but can be seen as another phase in the process of inscribing social movement agendas within the state.